Bars where Pete has had a Drink (3,476 bars; 1,545 bars in Seattle) - Click titles below for Lists:

Bars where Pete has had a drink

Saturday, February 28, 2015

I admire the ethics of "nose-to-tail" chefs like Le Petit Cochon's Derek Ronspies -- though less than I admire the ethics of vegetarians. But as a culinary moral reprobate myself, I'm just more likely to reach for dishes with terms like "pork belly" than I am for ones with "feet" or "face," let alone "legumes." Ronspies, who previously worked with his brother at fancy Art of the Table, actually revised the Cochon theme in 2014, shifting away from "fine dining" and more toward a "gastro pub." Whatever the case, I would be quite happy eating the rotating dishes here as well as some really nice cocktails.

I had a nice conversation with Bonnie, and older customer who loves Art of the Table and knows her restaurants, as well as with Derek and bartender Kate. I enjoyed an "Ole Smokey" (house made cedar infused bourbon, bitters, sugar, orange peel), and sampled the "Kurtwood Farms Loghouse Tomme (aged Tomme style cheese, with "D’s Nuts," pluot jam, and peppered honey) and the Duck Quacklins. And while it is less bar than restaurant, the quality and creativity of the drinks plus the fairly intimate and offbeat space make it a nice choice whether you're hungry or not.

Okay, you know a place is not focused on the bar when they are closed by 7pm every night and all day Saturday. But there is a fairly handsome bar here, with a small number of spirits, ready to serve lunch time visitors or patrons of events at the Sur space from which they carved out Cafe Con Leche. For the Cuban sandwiches and meals, I am tempted to redirect you all the way across town to Paseo, but the food is pretty good here.

Let me begin by noting that if you live very close, have kids with you, and are only moderately interested in watching a game, this may be a pretty good choice for you. For someone like me, who has to drive here, has no children, and was very interested in watching the Seahawks game, this was not a good choice.

Across the street, where the Redline used to be, and where The Bridge will remain for just a couple weeks, the place was rocking. The Redline in that location went from a place too scary for most the locals, to fairly gentrified, and now, in this new location, to family-friendly and utterly uninteresting to adults.

First, there's no soul to the place. They have TVs and the sort of sports decals you could have purchased in ten minutes. But there is no warmth, no personal touches, no collectibles that meant something to the owners, no photos or memorabilia, no personal or quirky touches -- just a stale, diner-style decor. (This post has led me to notice that Yelp's "Ambiance" choices do not include "None.")

Second, despite having at least a couple dozen people in Seahawks gear, they didn't seem to take the fans' interests very seriously. When someone finally told them we need the channels changed to the Seahawks game, a fellow (perhaps the owner?), told his customers "Just relax, people." This was right as the team was kicking off, so it was hardly justified to mock your customers for being concerned about actually turning on the game that everyone came to see.

Third, at first they would not turn the volume on during the game, and when they did it was not high enough for anyone to make out (and it was far from a raucous atmosphere). That's would be fine for many places, but if you're not going to have the sound up high enough for everyone to hear during a Seahawks game, it's something like a bait and switch to call yourself a sports bar.

Fourth, parking is a mess. There's a tiny lot of with probably 8-10 public spots that was filled, and we had to park four blocks away. Again, that would be unsurprising if we were going to a bar in PIoneer Square or Capitol Hill, but it's surprising in the middle of new developments off the main drag in West Seattle.

Finally, the food and drinks were lackluster. I'm willing to give them a bit of pass on this because they are new and were busy. It may take them a few weeks to figure out that the thin bread they use for their French Dip and special is not appropriate for those kind of sandwiches, and becomes soggy before you try and somehow hold it together to dip in au jus. Or that tater tots should be cooked enough to hold together even when you are busy. They did have what looked like a very interesting set of choices in sliders, as well as some pretty basic old school sports bar choices of pizza, nachos, salads, etc.

In summary, the food may improve a bit, and they may eventually start to take the whole sports bar thing seriously at some point, and I always wish businesses well in finding their demographic. But given the range of choices in West Seattle I can't see any particular reason for me or any of my friends to choose this place unless they lived in the condos above and didn't want to go out in the rain.

If you are in the mood for hard cider in Seattle, your choice of bars should not be difficult. Capitol Cider has 20 rotating ciders on tap (along with 10 beers) and over a hundred additional choices in bottles. The owners aim to have the largest selection of draft ciders in the U.S. These are served a in large two-level space with lots of wood and art, an and emphasis on American colonial days (when cider was a staple). Downstairs is the Ballast Bar, which features a remarkable mural on the back wall, communal tables, games, and an atmosphere that encourages people to linger. In addition, owners Spencer Reilly, his wife Jordan Sinclair, and his mother Julie Tall brought in Phil Thompson from Tavern Law and Coterie Room to lead the cocktail program, and there are a number of great options beyond the ciders and microbrews.

"Sue Kerr Hicks (December 12, 1895 – June 17, 1980) was an American jurist who practiced law and served as a circuit court judge in the state of Tennessee. He is best known for his role as a co-instigator and prosecutorin the 1925 trial of John T. Scopes, a Dayton, Tennessee teacher accused of teaching the Theory of Evolution in violation of Tennessee state law. Hicks may have also been the inspiration for the Shel Silverstein song “A Boy Named Sue,” which was popularized by country music performer Johnny Cash in 1969."

So the place has a southern theme, but it's never quite clear if "south" means the American South or the Georgetown neighborhood in south Seattle. You can get hush puppies and homemade Fireball and pulled pork sandwiches, not to mention some well made cocktails.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Westward is the sort of place you wish you could keep a secret. The location entices you to entertain this fantasy, with it's adirondack chairs gazing over the oyster shell fire pit and across Lake Union, all safely stashed away between the warehouses and dry docks of Northlake Way. The restaurant portion of the building is not visible from the street, and even the large sign in front of the building seems to sit by inconspicuously. But as if the view and location were not already enough to get the word out (in this seaport city with a surprising paucity of good water view seating), the food and ownership of Josh Henderson (Skillet, Hollywood Tavern, Quality Athletics) are enough to shoot your would-be secret all to hell. It would be hard enough to land a couple of those great seats on the small beach on a sunny day if it was fronting a humble fish and chips shack; the odds become nigh impossible when the food has been written up in the New York Times, the decor nominated for a James Beard award, the restaurant named one of the 10 best new ones in the country by Bon Appetit, and the joint covered by every foodie blog in town.

But while snagging prime seating in prime weather is unlikely, and just finding a parking spot within a short hike can be a challenge, it's well worth it to grab a seat inside or even standing room on the patio. The decor is maritime and apparently inspired by Henderson's love of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Behind the bar is a cut-away sculpture of a ship hull featuring rows of little boxed rooms, each containing a different diorama scene -- like Wes Craven storyboards staged by the staff of Archie McPhee. Bartenders and servers sport the classic French navy blue and white striped shirts. But if it sounds overwhelmingly kitschy, it doesn't feel that way -- it retains a sort of casual elegance that would feel more familiar on the coast of one of the nearby islands.

The food and cocktails are certainly not kitschy. Far from the sort of fried fish and chips you might expect from the blue collar surroundings, the Westward menu's seafood options include items like octopus Bolognese risotto, grilled Bering Sea octopus, and quick fried east coast squid with skordalia and sesame seed pistou. Much of the menu is Greek influenced, as Henderson agreed to in hiring chef Zoi ­Antonitsas, formerly of Madison Park Conservatory. The drinks from cocktail director Allison Hagie are also quite nice, with intriguing takes on some of my favorites, including their Negroni and a barrel-aged Boulevardier, as well as the "Remember the Maine" (12 rye, sweet vermouth, cherry heering and absinthe).

It all adds up to pretty much the opposite of a secret, but it's also well worth sharing.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

When I stumbled upon the Prohibition Gastropub, I had no idea of the drama that had taken place a year earlier with Gordon Ramsey and Kitchen Nightmares. Had I been aware, I definitely would have arranged to eat there, but as it was I had just finished dinner elsewhere and settled for a nice Old Pal, and no clear judgment on how much I like the place. The decor is a tad too precious for my tastes but the menu looked pretty inviting. They came out of the Ramsey show with the temporary services of respected Seattle chef Tyler Palagi. so it will would be nice to go back soon to see how they are getting on.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

This was the second brew pub opened by Fish Tale Ales but in contrast to the long-running Olympia version, this one closed after just three years, maintaining that they could not draw enough customers when there were no events at Xfinity Arena across the street. But it's hard not to peg this one on Fish Tale, as the space lies at the corner of heavily traveled Broadway and Hewitt Ave, which has supported a large number of bars for over a century.

Monday, February 16, 2015

County tax records show the building currently hosting Tailgator was built in 1910, but there appear to have been bars at this address even further back from that, with the 1904 Polk directory featuring a bar owned by an E.E. Lynch here. By at least 1913 it was the "Horseshoe Bar," and in 1947 it is listed as the "Eagles Club Room," before returning as the "Horseshoe Tavern" by 1960.

Known for a while as both "Tailgator Joe's" and "1805 Tailgator," the bar appears to have shortened its name to simply "Tailgator" in 2009. It is now a divey sort of sports bar, with cheap drinks and televisions downstairs, and a more dance club like floor above, which turns into Oakland Raiders central on NFL Sundays (Seahawks fans gather on the ground floor). It also hosts folks visiting nearby Xfinity Arena for concerts or Everett Silvertips junior hockey league games.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

In the area industrial area south of Seattle's sports stadiums which once hosted the shacks of Seattle's Hooverville, this is a prohibition-themed EDM club -- which means you can get a bit better cocktails here than most similar clubs. But it is basically the stock techno dance club, with VIP sections and the other trappings considered classy by drunk 21-year-olds, and fun when you are in that sort of mood.

I searched this place in vain for something that would make anyone envious -- it seems like a boilerplate strip mall dive bar serving diner food (although with the bar separated from the grill portion by curtains). The bar at this location had an interesting name once -- the Mucky Duck -- but even that is gone now. So I searched the internets, and found this -- if you were at Envy on New Years Eve 2015, you could have seen a couple old members of Steppenwolf kick off their "Born To Be Wild 2015 Tour, which sometimes includes dancing girls and extended organ solo.

Sunday, February 08, 2015

"Our Place" seems like an old dive transported into a ski lodge and named like a gay bar. It is actuall set in an old Lutheran church, which later served as a furniture store. As you might expect from a place with the soul of a diver bar, the food and drinks were pretty basic bar fare. But our enthusiastic server Angie made it a pleasant visit, and it seems like its probably a fun place to watch a game or get a drink on a Friday or Saturday night.

In 1911 to 1913, in the Old Town section of Silverdale, Washington, at the head of Dyes Inlet on the Kitsap peninsula, John Emel built a livery, with a dance hall and community center above that, and a top floor with lodging and likely a brothel. Emel also apparently ran a beer parlor there at some point, but there is no indication of when (although the description as a "beer parlor" indicates that it was after prohibition). I was informed that at one point it was "Pickles," a gay bar, but I haven't found any confirmation of that yet. The barn-like building is now known as the Old Town Pub (with eight people living above) and has been owned for the last two or three decades by Fred Lanouette, who once owned Seattle's "Backstage." It has a ramshackle, seaside charm, including tilting floors and armies of pigeons gathering on the pitched roof, with a classic neighborhood dive bar inside.

Donald Tompkins, AKA Brother Don, left New Jersey to join the army in 1953, started teaching in the Bremerton area in 1960, and opened his restaurant here in 1978, in the space that was formerly Sam Fitz's Gaslight Pizza. The community of Bremerton, sitting on a shore of the Kitsap peninsula east of Seattle, was shaped by the military since it's very founding, when William Bremer sold federal government the 81 acres that would become the Puget Sound Naval Station, and then fashioned a town around it. For the next 80 years or so, military brass would clash with city government over the bars and other enticements luring Navy personnel off the base:

"It was inevitable that Bremerton would attract businesses that catered to the less-savory inclinations of young sailors and transient workers. Prostitution, gambling, drunkenness, opium, muggings -- the panoply of human temptation and weakness -- were present from the beginning. By late 1902 Bremerton had a population of about 1,700, and there were 16 saloons, all within a short walk of the navy's front gate." (historylink)

Donald Tompkins (sweater) recalls the history of Brother Don's and other area bars for a Kitsap Historical Society tour.

After the city waxed and waned with wartime economies, the period when Don bought his restaurant and bar was one of the roughest. In addition to the usual sailors looking for a good time, Vietnam vets and biker gangs poured in "and no one could control them." Don told a group of us how one of his employees called him to tell him the Bandidos gang had filled the place, and he came down, confronted their leader, and worked out a deal that kept the situation well controlled for many years after, with Don's becoming known as one of the biggest biker bars in the northwest. There would be no flying of colors in the bar, and no more than 10 Bandidos there at any time. If there were any problems, Don had the phone number of the Bandidos sergeant at arms, who would expeditiously put an end to any issues.

The area is considerably more genteel now, and while Brother Don's feels more like a bar that serves food than a restaurant with a bar, the primary customers are not bikers but families and neighbors having some affordable burgers or pizza. The setting still feels like the 70s, but not the raucous 70s of Bremerton. Don rattled off a list of the bars that had come and gone, so many of them near his place that you could do plenty of bar hopping without a car (although he did recall the time when a patron called him one morning of asked if could see his car in the lot, and Don informed him he could see two of his cars). Tompkins remembered the Hillside Tavern, McGill's, Bernie's, Pete's Long House, the Maple Leaf, and The Sportsman. He remembered Monica's when it was Big Jim's, and later the Sexton, and the White Pig when the locals referred to it as the Albino Swino. He recalled Brewski's where a Mr. Darwin would toss his tassels, and the Alpha Omega where girls danced in cages.

You'd never imagine that sort of history from the sedate, unremarkable setting of Brother Don's today. And while few would long for a return of those days with the associated problems, the list definitely makes a bar blogger despair of having missed the halcyon days of the port city nightlife.

It is completely understandable that when Andy Graham bought McCloud's in June 2010, some people thought he was crazy. In various incarnations going back to when it wsa "Brad's" in the 60s, the bar had a notorious reputation, and Andy himself recounted stories of raucous fights and guys throwing bottles at the bands, who were protected by chicken wire. Graham had worked in the slightly different environs of Daniels Broiler and McCormicks in Seattle. But while he kept the name, Graham turned the capacious space into a spic and span, family friendly steakhouse and barbecue house during the day, with a rotating set of events for adults at night, ranging from line dancing lessons to jazz nights to salsa to country bands to Texas Hold'em games to, of course, karaoke. On our visit with Kitsap Historical Society, Andy also told stories about previous owner Ron Ross, whose job at 14 was to carry a large bolt around and smash stolen liquor bottles in the pockets of thieves. It is Ron's buffalo head that still hangs in the place today.

McCloud's remains a strongly themed western space, but the big barrels of peanuts and shells strewn across the floors are gone. There's a fairly typical selection of beers, wines and cocktails, along with chef Curtis Vanorsby's barbecue, which now complements the traditional steak house options. If you're unusually hungry you can take the 72oz Porter Challenge, although only one person has won it, and only one other come close.

Owner Andy Graham discusses the history of McCloud'sGrill House with members of Kitsap Historical Society's2013 bar tour.